Niçoise salad makes a perfect summer one-dish meal. You can prepare almost everything in advance and assemble the salad just before people sit down to eat.
One of my favorite uses for leftover grilled tuna is a Niçoise salad. We often grill a little extra tuna so that we can have this salad the next evening. With fresh lettuce, green beans, baby potatoes, and cherry tomatoes available at local farm stands, this is the perfect time of year to make a Niçoise salad. Grab some fresh herbs for the salad dressing too.
This is a very adaptable recipe. Add extra eggs, potatoes, or tuna if your crowd likes extra. You can add other ingredients to the salad, such as cooked artichoke hearts, red onion slices, or capers.
This recipe makes four servings.
Tips
- This recipe assumes that you are using leftover grilled tuna or canned tuna. If you are grilling tuna for the salad, be sure to cool it before adding it to the salad.
- Niçoise olives are ideal, but they can be difficult to find. Other olives are delicious. I used a blend of olives.
- If you don’t use pitted olives, be sure to warn people that the olives have pits. I’ve never found pitted Niçoise olives.
Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this Niçoise salad.
Niçoise Vinaigrette Ingredients
- 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/4 cup champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped shallots
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped basil
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped thyme
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salad Ingredients
- 16 baby red potatoes
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans
- 8 cups lettuce, such as Romaine
- 1 pound grilled tuna or two cans tuna
- 2/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved vertically (stem top to bottom)
- 1/2 cup olives
Directions
Make the Dressing
Add the mustard and honey to a mixing bowl and whisk them together. Whisk in the vinegar. Slowly add the olive oil, whisking while you add it.
When the olive oil is blended, add the shallots, basil, and thyme.
Add a little salt and pepper. Let the dressing sit a few minutes for the salt to melt into the dressing, then taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
Prepare the Eggs and Vegetables
Boil the eggs to your preference. Eggs can be hard boiled, with fully cooked yolks, or softer boiled so that the yolks are “jammy”. After they are cooked, drain them and let them cool completely. When you’re ready to add them to the salad, peel them and cut them in half. (If you cook the eggs earlier in the day, peel them and chill them until you need them.)
Wash the potatoes and boil them until they are tender when poked with a fork. Drain them, cover them with a wet towel, and cool them completely. Cut them in half before adding them to the salad.
Prepare the green beans. Trim the stem end. I like to leave the beans whole. If you prefer them smaller, cut them in half. Bring a pot of water to boil and add the beans. Cook them until tender, but still crunchy. Drain them and rinse them with very cold water. Cover them with a towel.
Wash the lettuce and tear it into bite-size pieces if needed.
Assemble the Salad
If you are using grilled tuna, cut it into slices approximately 1/3 inch thick. Set it aside.
In a large flat bowl, add the lettuce. Place the tuna slices in a row down the middle of the lettuce. If you’re using canned tuna, scoop it down the middle of the lettuce.
Arrange the green beans in a few areas of the salad. Place potato halves all around the edges. Add the egg halves, distributing them evenly around the salad.
Add tomato halves all over the salad, followed by the olives.
Just before serving, drizzle about half of the dressing over the salad.
Serve the salad with large salad servers. Add a ladle to the rest of the dressing and serve it on the side in case anyone wants more. Provide sea salt and pepper.
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